Future of Mayo GMIT Campus to dominate minister's Castlebar visit

EDUCATION Minister Richard Bruton is due to visit Castlebar tomorrow amid ongoing concerns over the downgrading of the Mayo GMIT Campus.

He will officially open the new education centre at Rush Street in Castlebar while a visit to the Mayo GMIT Campus is also scheduled. He will be accompanied by Taoisech Enda Kenny.

Both Mr. Bruton and Mr. Kenny have declined an invitation to meet members of the Mayo GMIT Action Committee. But a statement on the future of the college is expected to be made by the minister.  

Ahead of the minister's visit, Mayo Fianna Fáil Deputy Lisa Chambers has tabled the following parliamentary questions to Minister Bruton.

1, To ask the Minister for Education when does the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology plan to advertise and hold an open competition to fill the position of campus director for the Mayo campus? The position became available in December 2016 and has been filled on an interim basis to date without advertising.

2. To ask the Minister for Education who was appointed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to the governing body of the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, as is required by section 5 (4) (b) of the Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act 1999?

3. To ask the Minister if he will invite a nomination from Mayo Chamber to nominate a representative to the governing body of the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology as provided for under section 5 (4) (c) of the Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act 1999 ('The Act'). Mayo Chamber is representative of industry, commerce, the professions and local community interests and having regard to the courses offered at the Mayo campus, Mayo Chamber in my view meets the requirements as laid down by said section of 'the Act'. Given Galway Chamber have a representative on the governing body, it seems that Mayo Chamber should equally be represented since one of the GMIT's campus' are located in Mayo.

4. To ask the Minister for Education if he will appoint an additional representative from Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB) to the governing body of the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) under section 5 (4) (a) and section 14 of the Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act 1999? Currently out of the six places available for relevant Education and Training Board (ETB) representatives, Galway and Roscommon ETB hold four of those positions. Given one of the GMIT's campus' is located in Mayo and it caters for other counties such as Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal, it seems fair and equitable that MSLETB would hold two of the six ETB representative positions on the GMIT governing body. Limerick and Clare ETB hold one of the six positions and it does not have a campus in its area, MSLETB should not have the same level of representation as Limerick and Clare ETB given it represents three counties and there is a campus located in Mayo.

5. To ask the Minister for Education how long each member of the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology governing body has held office? On what date did each member of the governing body take up office?